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Tag: PAX

Ad hoc meetups on a whim

Meetups are best when they happen unplanned and on a whim. If there is too much planning and people need to signup or register or check their schedules and RSVP then some of the magic is lost.

When you have thousands of people in the same place like at PAX East, there is no reason why meetups can’t occur among gamers with little warning or planning. Everyone is there, they just need a little coordination.

That’s why smart planners are sowing the seeds of meetups on localweb.is/pax.meetups. It’s a simple and fast way to post where you are thinking of meeting up to try and get a little traction. Want to go to Thinking Cup coffee bar around 1pm? Just post it. Others looking to meetup will see your post on /pax.meetup and respond. Maybe they want coffee instead of beer and pizza, or maybe they are already headed in that direction so why not stop by.

It can be hard to get people’s attention when there is so much to see and do at a huge event. But the people who are checking /pax.meetup are those who actually want to meet up. And because it’s the local web, they are within walking distance to you, which means they are the ones who have the ability to meet up. Pair the desire to meet up and the ability to meet up and it’s not long before you are having coffee with some new friends at a local coffee bar.

When you need something, today

It’s two days before PAX East and you don’t have tickets. You didn’t even plan on going because you had to cover someone’s shift at work, but now that person can take their shift again and you can go… if you had tickets. It’s too late to get them off eBay or from anyone that needs to ships them. What do you do?

It’s two days before PAX East and you have tickets. But some jackass from work really needs to you to cover his shift on Friday. It sucks, but you have to get rid of your Friday ticket, but where do you do it? You don’t have time to walk around and scalp them on the street.

In both cases, you just go to localweb.is/need.pax.tix and post that you are looking or selling. /need.pax.tix didn’t exist a few minutes ago. But when you type any local web URL into the browser and post, it’s automatically created.

There is lot of activity in Boston on the local web and many people are searching for PAX related slashes. A quick search will turn up your /need.pax.tix and someone who is looking to buy or sell and get in touch with you. This person is within walking distance. After a few interactions, the /need.pax.tix slash moves higher on the local web front page, especially around the Boston Convention Center. More people decide to either unload their PAX tickets or buy a few more for their friends. Within 24 hours the /need.pax.ticket slash has become a thriving marketplace and continues right until Sunday, when people are offloading their Sunday tickets for sweet prices.

This didn’t take a developer to code up some marketplace app. It just took ordinary people to get together to use a URL in a certain way. And it was started by one person, in less than 10 seconds. This is the power of the local web.

Note: PAX is not officially affiliated with the local web. The above is just an example of what could happen when the local web comes online at PAX East in April.

We are building the local web and sharing a new way to use it each day.

Turning sparks into fires

If you love something, let it go. Not only does this apply to former romantic partners, but it applies to ideas as well. The best first step to turn an idea into something real is to talk about it publicly.

On Saturday evening at PAX East there is a panel where you have 45 seconds to pitch your game idea to experts. This is a great way to get some critical feedback and also get your idea out to others in the room. My question is, why wait until Saturday?

People have already turned to the local web to pitch their video game ideas to others in the geographic area. And when there is a massive video game conference going on, the “others” in the area are the people you want to talk to.

Attendees at PAX are posting their game ideas to localweb.is /pitch.your.game.idea and others at PAX and folks on the local web are responding with feedback. Some ideas start to get a lot of traction and people are offering more than just feedback, they are offering help. This can only happen when you get out in front of the crowd and get exposed. You can do that on Saturday at 7:30pm, but the crowd is also on the local web and there is no limit to when and how you use it. Can’t sleep on Friday night after all the festivities have your brain moving at 88 mph? Can’t get that idea for a Back to the Future meets Civilization RPG out of your head? Post to /pitch.your.game.idea so you can at least get some sleep that night. Then check the activity in the morning when you wake up.

PAX is great for bringing people together with similar interests, but often these interests are segmented into time slots that come and go. The local web also brings people together, but the “slashes” have a much longer life span with more opportunities to make something magical happen.

Note: PAX is not officially affiliated with the local web. The above is just an example of what could happen when the local web comes online at PAX East in April.

We are building the local web and sharing a new way to use it each day.

Uber for cookies

The Cookie Brigade started as an experiment in random acts of kindness. Now it’s a baking force to be reckoned with and the kindness generated is tangible with the thousands of dollars they have raised for the Child’s Play Charity.

At PAX they are using the local web and /cookie.brigade to coalesce cookie fans in the area and get some exposure. The Cookie Brigade can be hard to miss when you are at PAX, but that doesn’t mean they are there when you need them, often when you can’t even move because you are stuck waiting in line somewhere.

That’s why the Cookie Brigade is using /cookie.requests to come to the “aid” of those who can do nothing but check their phone and ignore the rumble in their tummy. People simply go to localweb.is /cookie.requests and post which line they are in and their cookie preference and before they know it, the closest Cookie Brigadier is there with the sweet and tasty relief.

It’s not long before the word of this “Uber for cookies” spreads and the Brigadiers are hopping. The best part is this doesn’t require PAXers to download some new app, which is only available in iOS and not Android. /cookie.requests is a URL. If you have a browser on your phone or your laptop, then you have the cookie request “app”.

All this activity in both /cookie.requests and /cookie.brigade causes them to rise to the top of the local web front page, which is a list of the popular slashes in the area (at PAX). Because slashes are so easy to create by anyone, non-brigadiers get in on the action by starting /cookie.request.xl for folks with a big appetite and /cookie.request.black for those who are willing to donate a bit more for quick service. The Vault Boy cookies are a huge hit and people are requesting them for big money at /cookie.brigade.rares.

The Cookie Brigade has become a full out local meme at PAX this year which doesn’t bother them at all since donations are at record levels. This is all possible thanks to their tireless dedication and the serendipitous way the local web can bring people together who are in the same place.

Note: PAX and Cookie Brigade are not officially affiliated with the local web. The above is just an example of what could happen when the local web comes online at PAX East in April.

We are building the local web and sharing a new way to use it each day.

Getting the band back together… for the first time

Jamspace is an event within PAX East put on by Magfest that brings together local music acts and also random musical strangers in open jam sessions.

Being located at the far end of the hall at a huge convention center isn’t ideal, even with the chip tunes blaring out at full volume. The Magfest crew needs a better way to get the word out than relying on PAX’s own promotion of their event.

Since the open jam sessions rely on strangers in the area getting together to make some sweet music, what better way to make that happen than the local web. By posting info about the open jam sessions to localweb.is/jamspace it allows Magfest to reach people who are at PAX — not on Twitter or Facebook or in forums but actually at PAX. If you go to /jamspace and you can see people talking about the open jam sessions, then you are at PAX.

It’s a long walk to the signup sheet in the Jamspace room, so many PAX attendees are just using the local web and /jamspace to ask questions, post what they can play, and in an ad-hoc way, getting the band together before they meet for the first time at one of the open jam sessions.

All this activity has the side benefit of pushing the /jamspace slash to the top of the local web front page. When PAX attendees are checking out the front page to see what’s hot at PAX this year, and /jamspace is at the top of the list, it really doesn’t matter how far down the hall you are. If you play it (and promote it on the local web), they will come.

Note: PAX or Magfest are not officially affiliated with the local web. The above is just an example of what could happen when the local web launches at PAX East in April.

We are building the local web and sharing a new way to use it each day.

Getting the gang together online, then offline

PAX East is a big video game show and conference where hundreds of people dress up as their favorite game characters. Borderlands has a massive following and PAX will be full of both Borderlands cosplayers and fans alike. But how do they all find each other? A Borderlands PAX takeover won’t be very effective if they can’t all assemble for maximum impact. Sure there is a Facebook group, but tons of Borderlands fans won’t know about that or will be too busy to be checking Facebook at PAX.

That is why the organizers of the Borderlands Gathering are using the local web to not only round up all the stray Borderland fans, but mobilize them as well. They are using a local web slash, localweb.is /borderlands.gathering to organize and communicate when they are on the ground in Boston. It’s not just about organizing either. /borderlands.gathering becomes this instant local community where people can talk about anything… among other Borderlands fans, be it where to eat dinner or how they design aspects of their cosplay.

All this communicating on /borderlands.gathering causes that slash to rise to the top of the frontpage at localweb.is. PAX attendees are checking out the front page to see what is active and hot for the day. Any Borderlands fan can’t resist seeing what is going on in /borderlands.gathering and even people who don’t know what Borderlands is are wondering why this slash is so popular. There is a lot of exposure going on for Borderlands on the local web and it’s time to turn that online activity into offline madness.

When you have hundreds of Borderlands fans all checking /borderlands.gathering to see whats going, it’s much easier to mobilize people on the ground. Because it’s the local web, you know that everyone who is watching or has posted is in walking distance. It’s not like they said they were going on Facebook, then didn’t show up. On the local web, they are already there.

The organizers of /Borderlands.Gathering have to get multiple meetups going over the course of the three days of PAX. By Sunday, /borderlands.gathering is so active, that multiple meetups are planned for the final day, including a mega-meetup, which might just break the record for most Borderlands fans and cosplayers in one photo shoot. It’s all a bit of pandemonium which is exactly the way Borderlands players like it.

This wasn’t planned months in advanced. It all came together because the local web allows for ad hoc communities to form quickly and easily, and get exposure from the people around them — the people that matter.

Note: PAX is not officially affiliated with the local web. The above is just an example of what could happen when the local web launches at PAX East in April.

We are building the local web and sharing a new way to use it each day.

Keep your traditions with a temporary family

There are going to be tens of thousands of people attending PAX East on the weekend of April 22nd. Many people will be flying in from all over the country to be there. This weekend is also the start of Passover, so many Jewish folks attending PAX will be without their families to share in the tradition. But just because you aren’t near your birth family doesn’t mean you can’t make a new one, on the fly.

That’s why many Jewish peeps who are attending PAX East are also checking out /paxover.seder on the local web. This type of planning is often hard to do because most gamers and fans don’t overtly identify themselves as being Jewish when interacting online. Religion just isn’t a big part of gaming. So how do you find other Jewish gamers at a massive conference? The local web.

A few organizers start posting their seder plans on /paxover.seder. Other PAXers who are in town on Thursday and are checking out the local web frontpage will see this activity in /paxover.seder. If they are Jewish they might be drawn to what’s going down and post themselves about helping out. By the time Friday evening rolls around /paxover.seder is one of the top slashes and dinner plans have been made. If you thought that dinner with your extended family was a lively time, just imagine dinner with your greatly extended and temporary family of dozens of Jewish gamers.

Note: PAX is not officially affiliated with the local web. The above is just an example of what could happen when the local web launches at PAX East in April.

We are building the local web and sharing a new way to use it each day.

Start the conversation … before the conversation

Luke’s PAX panel on the ethics of live streaming is on Sunday at 10am. It’s not the best time slot and he doesn’t have the audience or name recognition of some of the bigger panelists. But that doesn’t mean that he can’t work smarter to make sure he packs the room on Sunday morning.

Luke turns to the local web to get the conversation going on /livestreaming.ethics.panel. He is in there answering questions and bringing up discussion topics on Friday, two days before his panel. When he meets folks on the floor he directs them to /livestreaming.ethics.panel to continue the conversation. All this activity is causing /livestreaming.ethics.panel to rise to the top of the local web front page, which is a list of popular slashes in the immediate area. By engaging his community beforehand, he is starting a fire on the local web that spreads to other attendees who are checking the local web front page to see what’s going on. By Sunday, Luke’s panel becomes the can’t-miss event as the discussion is super heated and many people want to continue the conversation face to face at the panel.

This is one of the major aspects of the local web — turning online interaction into offline action. Luke could have discussed his panel on Twitter using a hashtag and it may have gained steam, but the people who can see the content on /livestreaming.ethics.panel are all within walking distance of where the panel is taking place. They are the people who can actually make a difference on the ground. Fifty extra Twitter followers is great, but fifty people waiting outside the room because the panel is packed to capacity is the real prize.

Note: PAX is not officially affiliated with the local web. The above is just an example of what could happen when the local web launches at PAX East in April.

We are building the local web and sharing a new way to use it each day.

The following is a fictional scenario. It’s an example of what could happen with the local web.

The “enforcers” at PAX have a hard and rewarding job. Being the spine and lifeblood of the show, they are tasked with making sure everything goes according to plan and attendees have a great time.

To pull this off they use the local web to setup quick and temporary local “channels” to communicate on. There is /u/enforcer.comms for general communications, and /u/enforcer.zoneleaders for the zone leaders to communicate on, and /u/enforcer.questions for the new enforcers to get their questions answered. The /u/ in each of these URLs means that it’s unlisted from the local web front page. The only way you can access these “slashes” is if you know the URLs, and only the enforcers know them.

They work a bit better than a group communication app because it’s not an app that everyone has to download. It’s a simple URL that anyone can access, as long as they know the URL. If the URL leaks online, it’s really not a huge deal because content on the local web is location based so anyone outside of Boston won’t see anything posted to /enforcer.comms.

PAX is a big deal and there is a lot going on that only lasts a few days. Permanent repositories of information like forums have their place, but they are often not real-time or perform poorly on mobile. The organized chaos of PAX lends itself to a decentralized and mobile based communication system, which is exactly what the local web provides.

Note: PAX is not officially affiliated with the local web. The above is just an example of what could happen when the local web launches at PAX East in April.

We are building the local web and sharing a new way to use it each day.

Calling level 89 conference wizards…

Sure you can have a great time if you simply attend the PAX gaming conference… but what if you could actually play it? That is question a group of guys and girls asked themselves on the 18 hour drive from St Louis to Boston where PAX East is held. And a question they wanted to answer.

They came up with an idea to use the local web to turn PAX into an actual RPG game. You start by posting your character info in /The.PAX.RPG and then you can earn experience and items by doing various quests, which are also part of the local web. Players on /PAXRPG.Swag.of.Destiny are looking to collect certain items of swag given out by vendors at the event. Other attendees are posting shots to /PAXRPG.High.Score.Towers of the best scores they have gotten at selected demo games. Not only is this a fun meta-game to play at PAX, but it forces you to really get around the venue and see and do some things you may have missed.

Even the action at /PAXRPG.Slay.the.Line.Beast is intense as attendees will post which line they are in and if they are accepting challenges. Other PAX RPG players can challenge them face to face using dice, cards, rock-paper-scissors or any other type of game. The results are posted to the ‘slash’. It’s a fun distraction while waiting in line for some of the major events.

This type of organization can only happen on the local web. “Slashes” are as easy to create as typing in URL and easy to disseminate as well. Players don’t need to download some new app since the local web only requires a web browser. Sure, /The.PAX.RPG is not a well oiled machine but that is part of the charm. It’s a mostly spontaneous flow of creativity and good will that is localized to this event. It’s the type of thing that can come about on the local web when you get a bunch of like minded people together in the same place, and give them the right tools to make some magic.

Note: PAX is not officially affiliated with the local web. The above is just an example of what could happen when the local web launches at PAX East in April.

We are building the local web and sharing a new way to use it each day.

Alone together

Even if you are going with a group, it can be hard to stay together when there is so much to see and do at major conferences like PAX. If your buddies can’t get tickets and you are going solo to PAX, that doesn’t mean you will have no one to chill with. In fact, you are probably already part of one of the largest groups there, those who are going solo.

If you are headed to PAX by yourself or lose your group of friends, then just check out or post on /solo.at.pax. There you will find other solo PAX’ers looking for some tabletop action or just someone to wait in line with. The impromptu meetup on /solo.at.pax is one of the best opportunities to meet some new people. Don’t feel like eating alone? Post when you would like to grab lunch to /solo.at.pax and you can quickly get some company going.

And when the festivities are over, there is no need to go back to your hotel by yourself and watch TV. One of the biggest parties is from the folks on /solo.at.pax who are all meeting up at FiRE + iCE for drinks and food.

Despite thousands of attendees all around you, if you go alone you can feel alone. But thanks to the local web other soloists can find each other and at least dispel that ‘feeling alone’ part.

Note: PAX is not officially affiliated with the local web. The above is just an example of what could happen when the local web launches at PAX East in April.

We are building the local web and sharing a new way to use it each day.

Astro Gaming makes premium gaming equipment for pro-gamers and core enthusiasts. They have Twitter, Facebook, and all the usual social accounts but at the PAX East convention so do all the other vendors, and with hundreds of other booths to compete with, they have to play it smart.

That’s why they are turning to the local web to make an impact focused on where they are right now, at PAX.

To start, they are using the local web URL /astro.gaming to communicate with fans and their audience at the event. But to generate some interest, they are asking people who stop by their booth to post their favorite game to /astro.gaming and they will pick one person every two hours to get their A50 headset for free. This is a serious piece of hardware so people are more than willing to share their favorite game on the local web.

The first few hours have a light amount of posts, but after the first A50 is given away, the word is out and no one wants to miss the opportunity this time. The number of posts in /astro.gaming explode. Astro reps do their best to respond and engage their new audience.

The real benefit comes with all the activity that /astro.gaming is generating. It’s causing /astro.gaming to rise near the top of the local web front page, and fast. People at PAX are checking the local web front page to see what’s active and what’s hot right now. And while huge panels like /pennyarcade.qa have a lot of activity, and rightfully so, there is another slash at the top of the heap, /astro.gaming.

Tons of people are now wondering what this Astro Gaming thing is all about and why people are posting their favorite games. This draws scores of curious attendees to their booth, which in itself creates a scene which draws even more onlookers.

Creating a scene is the best way to create an even larger scene. While this can be done in person with a lot of money and theatrics, it’s much harder to do online in social media. Even if you can pull it off, the audience you really need is within walking distance, not scattered all over the interwebs.

With the local web and some tactical thinking you can create the perfect storm for turning a digital scene into a physical one.

Note: Astro Gaming or PAX are not officially affiliated with the local web. The above is just an example of what could happen when the local web launches at PAX East in April.

We are building the local web and sharing a new way to use it each day.

An AMA for those in the room

PAX is a huge video game conference with no shortage of events, panels and other craziness to experience. It can all be quite overwhelming. Sure they have their own app you can download, but who really wants another app on their overstuffed homescreens.

That’s why many panel organizers have turned to the local web as a quick and dirty way to connect the room. At the Penny Arcade Q&A in the main room, Gabe and Tycho just put up a sign with the local web URL, localweb.is/pennyarcade.qa, for people in the room to communicate on. It’s sort of like a subreddit, just without the voting and only accessible to people in and around PAX. If you went to /pennyarcade.qa while you were in Chicago, it would still exist but it wouldn’t be active. You really need to be where PAX is to see what people are saying.

In that slash, conference goers are asking questions for Gabe and Tycho to answer and attendees are also talking to each other. They are having debates, making friends and making plans.

All the activity in /pennyarcade.qa causes it to rise to the top of the frontpage which lists the most active slashes in the area. Other people at PAX just checking the local web can see that something is going on in /pennyarcade.qa and maybe they should be there. For the few days of PAX, the front page of the local web acts as a barometer of what is popular and interesting, at that very moment.

Note: PAX or Penny Arcade are not officially affiliated with the local web. The above is just an example of what could happen when the local web launches at PAX East in April.

We are building the local web and sharing a new way to use it each day.

When social needs to be hyper local

The Behemoth is a small independent game studio that has produced some modern classics like Castle Crashers and Alien Hominid. Lacking the massive marketing budgets of their competitors they rely on the quality of their games and word of mouth. To spread that word of mouth they use their social channels like Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube. These platforms work to reach the broad spectrum of people who are already fans, but today they are at PAX East, the largest video game conference on the east coast. They could tweet to their hearts content, but they need to reach the people at PAX, not the Internet at large.

To do that they are posting updates and doing an un-official Q&A on the localweb slash /thebehemoth. The slash isn’t an app people have to download, it’s a URL, localweb.is/thebehemoth and anyone who is at the conference can go there and see what The Behemoth is up to. Promoting the slash at PAX is as easy as putting up a sign with the URL at their booth.

While they only have 51k Twitter followers, which isn’t much compared to other game developers, their local web game is on point. All the posts, comments, and activity in /thebehemoth is causing that slash to rise to the top of the front page. The front page is a list of the most popular and active slashes in a 2 mile radius. At PAX, the front page is basically a barometer of what people are talking about and excited about, in real time.

While Bethesda Studios has over a million Twitter followers, very few of them are actually at PAX, and even fewer are paying attention to their noisy Twitter feeds. But since the local web essentially filters out the global noise, it becomes hyper relevant. What’s trending at PAX this minute? There is a good chance it’s the folks at The Behemoth who are working the intersection of social and local: the local web.

Note: PAX and The Behemoth are not officially affiliated with the local web. The above is just an example of what could happens when the local web launches at PAX East in April.

We are building the local web and sharing a new way to use it each day.

Organizing a tourney with one URL

So while you were getting a casual game of Carcassonne going on /carcassonne.friendly, you were really just passing the time between tournament heats. At PAX the Carcassonne tourney is run over the course of the day, starting with the initial heats, then the semi finals, then finals in the afternoon. With players wandering all over the venue it can be challenging to get everyone back in time to get a game started. Instead of relying on clunky group messaging or text messages, the tournament organizers are just using a local web URL to inform players.

At localweb.is/carcassonne.tourney players are asking questions, often answered by other players, and the organizers are posting match results and deadlines. It all works well because all you need is a web browser to view the URL and it doesn’t become noisy because the local web is… local. Only those at PAX can communicate with each other at the URL.

There are many ways to tackle a communication challenge like this, but using the local web is the simplest and easiest. There is an added bonus of the activity in /carcassonne.tourney pushing that slash to the top of the front page. In this way, others checking the local web know that there is some Carcassonne finals action going on right now and they should be there if they don’t want to miss it.

Note: PAX is not officially affiliated with the local web. The above is just an example of what could happen when the local web launches at PAX East in April.

We are building the local web and sharing a new way to use it each day.

A collective album, on location

Cosplay is one element of the PAX gaming conference that is unavoidable. It’s everywhere and it’s glorious. There is so much cosplay to be seen that it’s impossible to see it all. But what if there was way to see all the cosplayers participating at PAX? There is using the local web.

People at PAX are posting photos they take of cosplayers to Instagram but also to localweb.is/pax.cosplay. This isn’t a personal account like Instagram, it’s a collective space where everyone is posting their cosplay photos. And it isn’t just photos either; people are discussing the costumes, asking questions and getting answers from the cosplayers themselves.

/pax.cosplay acts as a central hub for all things cosplay during the event. Sure they could use Twitter for something like this, but it gets noisy so quickly. Anyone in the world can post to a hashtag. But in /pax.cosplay, you know the people posting are from within walking distance to you. There are lots of places online to find cosplay photos, but the ones on /pax.cosplay are also the ones you can see in person, right now. That is the power of the local web.

Note: PAX is not officially affiliated with the local web. The above is just an example of what could happen when the local web launches at PAX East in April.

We are building the local web and sharing a new way to use it each day.

How do you contact YouTubers…when they are 40 feet away?

At the Google YouTube Panel at PAX there are some big time YouTubers on deck: Mini Ladd, Vanoss, Wildcat, Lui, Jerome, xRPMx13 and BajanCanadian. That’s a lot of people and with only an hour for the panel they unfortunately don’t have time for questions. Combine that with the typical ten minutes it takes to get through introductions, if you came here to see Mini Ladd speak, he may only get a few responses. That’s not quite the interaction you had hoped for coming to PAX and getting into this packed panel. Fortunately, Mini Ladd loves his fans and is following the local web URL localweb.is/MiniLadd.

Just because there isn’t time to ask Mini Ladd questions at the panel doesn’t mean his fans aren’t sending in lots of questions after each response he gives. He can then answer them personally after the panel or even during the panel while the other 6 panelists are speaking. This creates a direct connection between Mini Ladd and his dedicated fans who came to see him directly.

Mini Ladd has over two million subscribers so his inbox and YouTube comments are flooded and he can’t answer them all. But on /MiniLadd, he knows that those commenters are at PAX, and that they are his super fans, the ones he can build a special relationship with at the moment the event is over. By interacting with fans on /MiniLadd he is rewarding his die-hard base and every YouTuber, especially those still on the rise, know that those die-hard fans keep the fire burning longer.

The other benefit of interacting with fans on /MiniLadd is that all that activity causes that slash to rise near the top of the front page of the local web. Others at PAX who are looking at the front page to see what is hot right now see this activity and then explore what this Mini Ladd guy is all about. Just by interacting with his fans, he spreads his own awareness and builds more fans, not just on YouTube, but in the building. These new fans in the building have the opportunity to meet Mini Ladd and then to be come die-hard fans quite quickly.

“Slash MiniLadd” isn’t something he uses everywhere, unless he enjoys meeting fans at the grocery store, but when he is at an industry event he doesn’t want to miss the opportunity to build his brand with the most passionate and supportive people around him.

Note: PAX and Mini Ladd are not officially affiliated with the local web. The above is just an example of what could happen when the local web launches at PAX East in April.

We are building the local web and sharing a new way to use it each day.

If Link is your favorite video game character you really don’t want to miss any Link cosplay at the event. Others at PAX are taking photos of Link cosplay they see and posting to instagram and twitter, but the real magic is when they post to /wheres.link on the local web. On /wheres.link you can find all the Link cosplay to be found at PAX and people are discussing and asking questions of the players. “Slash wheres Link” becauses a pop-up community for all the Link fans at PAX. By posting on /wheres.link all the Link cosplayers become…well… linked… and decide to get together for a massive Link photo shoot at noon on Saturday. This becomes an historic event and /wheres.link shoots to the top of the front page of the local web. Others at PAX see it at the top and get hyped about the photo shoot and being in the presence of 100+ Links.

This event wasn’t listed on the PAX website, or mobile app. It wasn’t on a schedule or attached to a twitter hashtag. It was the product of the type of organic community that can happen on the local web.

The first step to getting an instant community like this is to bring people together in the same place, which PAX has done. But the local web allows people to find others with similar interests and interact and organize. No app needed except a web browser. /wheres.link wasn’t in planning for months before PAX. It happened when one person posted a photo of Link to the url localweb.is/wheres.link. One Link fan browsing the local web noticed it and thought it was a cool idea so posted a photo too. Then another.

There is a sense of spontaneity and DIY attitude that is missing from our current online life. We have tons of apps with narrow and carefully curated experiences, but few opportunities to break out of those boxes and do what we want, whatever it is.

The local web as far as social media goes is a sandbox experience. It is what you make of it, whether that is for gathering 100 Links together into the most epic of photos… or any of the other 248 uses currently listed here.

And we are just getting started.

Note: PAX is not officially affiliated with the local web. The above is just an example of what could happen when the local web launches at PAX East in April.

We are building the local web and sharing a new way to use it each day.

Your on-site social profile

Some people just enjoy their cosplay and some people take it very seriously. And then there is Bonnie. She designs, creates and wears amazing and show stopping cosplay at events and conferences. She has a Facebook page and a Twitter account and does the usual social things that creators are supposed to do, but none of these really carry much weight when she is in costume at an event.

When in costume she is turning heads and making a lot of noise in the scene. Posting a tweet into the twitterstorm feels insignificant. That is why she is using the local web when she is on-the-ground at an event. Instead of telling people to “follow me on twitter” she asks them to reach out to her on the local web at localweb.is/bonnie.aether.wing.kayle. There she is answering questions and talking to fans, and others are posting photos of her. Everyone she talks to in that “slash” is at the event because it only reaches a few miles. This insures that she is talking to the most valuable people possible.

All the discussion in the slash causes it to rise near the top of the front page on the local web. Other people checking out what’s hot at PAX see her slash and investigate. League of Legends fans immediately recognize the Aether Wing Kayle slash and can seek her out, in person. With the local web she is able to amplify her presence but only with the people at PAX, which is perfect, because that is where she and her fans are right now.

Note: Bonnie or PAX are not officially affiliated with the local web. The above is just an example of what could happen when the local web launches at PAX East in April.

We are building the local web and sharing a new way to use it each day.

Mobilize your fans, wherever they are

TotalBiscuit is a popular YouTuber and video game critic. His followers count in the millions among YouTube, Twitter, Twitch, Facebook, SoundCloud, Google+ and any other other platform available. But where are his followers when he needs them most? TotalBiscuit is at PAX East, but are his followers there too? Maybe. Some of them must be, statistically. But there is no good way to bring them together.

That’s where the local web comes in with localweb.is/totalbiscuit. It’s a URL or “slash” where TotalBiscuit, or anyone, can post about… TotalBiscuit. The difference is that it’s only visible to people in the area.

So if TotalBiscuit tweets out to his 500k Twitter followers that they should follow him at /TotalBiscuit during PAX, when he gets there he has a ready-formed collective of on-the-ground TotalBiscuit fanatics ready to do his bidding. If TB wants to show support for a booth or panel that needs some love, he could post on Twitter… but his Twitter followers probably are not at PAX, and they might miss the tweet. But if he posts to /TotalBiscuit it goes directly to his fans at the event, the ones that can make a difference.

If he wants to meet more fans in person, he can post where he is at /TotalBiscuit. If he wants to ask his fans what the best games at PAX are, post to /TotalBiscuit. If he wants to put together a guerrilla campaign to support an awesome but under-appreciated developer at PAX…. you guessed it, /TotalBiscuit.

All this activity in /TotalBiscuit will cause it to rise to the top of the local web front page, which lists all the hot slashes. Others at PAX who are browsing the local web will wonder what all the excitement is about on /TotalBiscuit. This leads to more exposure and more fans for TB. Pushing /TotalBiscuit to the top of the local web can attract attention from executives and other deal makers who are wondering who has this mobilized army of super fans.

And if worse comes to worse and he can’t make PAX at the last minute, then Total Biscuit fans themselves can network together and have their own unofficial meetup, all organized on…. yup… /TotalBiscuit.

Note: PAX and TotalBiscuit are not officially affiliated with the local web. The above is just an example of what could happen when the local web launches at PAX East in April.

We are building the local web and sharing a new way to use it each day.

Who’s up for a game, right now?

Carcassonne is a popular table top strategy game. At Pax East there is a specific time and location for the Carcassone tournament games. But with all the waiting around, sometimes you just want to get in there and play.

That’s why PAX attendees have turned to the local web to get quick Carcassonne games going wherever they are. By posting a quick note to localweb.is/carcassone.friendly that they are starting a new game in 5 minutes in the south hall, they can reach other Carcassonne players but only those in the immediate area at PAX.

This does not require an app that every Carcassonne player has to install or an email list that they have to sign up for. It’s just a local web URL that you don’t need to sign up for or be logged in to view. It’s a quick and open method of communication, just like the web only local.

Note: PAX is not officially affiliated with the local web. The above is just an example of what could happen when the local web launches at PAX East in April.

We are building the local web and sharing a new way to use it each day.

Local help on your phone

PAX East is a gigantic sprawling video game conference held in Boston each year. The Boston Convention & Exhibition Center is over a half million square feet. At PAX, you will occupy one of those square feet. Despite the best efforts of maps, both physical and online, it can be daunting to know where you are, where you want to go and how to get there. And because the maps were printed weeks ago, it can all be a bit out of date. So if you find your self a few wrong turns deep and down a deserted hallway, who do you turn to? The local web.

Simply drop a post on /lost.at.pax about your prediciment and someone will quickly point you in the right direction. PAX has people monitoring that slash officially, but there are also lots of people checking it out during their down time who can lend a hand as well. Where is the nearest bathroom that has a baby change table? A PAX volunteer might direct you to the closest but another momma attendee will direct you to closest one that works because she just visited the one the volunteer suggested and the latch is broken.

At a conference like this people are always looking to help others, but surprisingly it can be hard to find the person who needs help. But at /lost.at.pax those needing help can find those willing to give it and more attendees can have an awesome experience. /lost.at.pax isn’t the first line of defense for those in need as the PAX officials have done a good job at providing adequate resources. But it’s an effective last line of defense in which crowdsourced volunteers instill a sense of togetherness in all attendees and make sure no one goes home frustrated and overwhelmed.

Note: PAX is not officially affiliated with the local web. The above is just an example of what could happen when the local web launches at PAX East in April.

We are building the local web and sharing a new way to use it each day.

The decentralized 21st century lost-and-found that we deserve

You are attending the PAX East conference and stop to talk to a YouTuber who you are a fan of. You put your backpack down, grab a shirt out of it and get him to sign it. After the convo you are elated, having just found and talked to one your idols. This elation turns to hunger and you go look for a place to get something to eat. As you are standing in line for food, admiring the signed shirt you just got, it hits you.

Fuck.

Your backpack. It’s back in the middle of a convention hall that’s a 10 minute walk away. Or at least it was. It’s gone now. Left backpacks just don’t stay left for long. What are your options? Suck it up and try not to let it ruin your day, even though it will? Or try to find someone who knows where the “lost and found” is, if such a thing exists, and hope that someone saw your backpack and took 20 minutes out of their day to find this lost and found and put your backpack there too.

There is a third option. Get your phone out and check localweb.is/lost.and.found. There people who find lost items immediately take a photo of it and post it, then take the item with them, so nobody else takes it. You quickly see that your backpack is one of the most recent posts and you reply to the post to retrieve it. He responds with a question about what is inside, just to verify, and you agree to meet up at a spot that is only a few minutes from both of you.

Crisis averted.

The centralized concept of a lost-and-found is some 20th century technology that doesn’t fit how we live our lives today. If there is considerable friction to returning a lost item, people won’t want to do it and the item will remain where it is until it’s stolen. But thanks to the local web, returning an item is as simple as taking a photo of it, so the good Samaritans, who always outnumber the thieves, usually will get the first shot.

The traditional lost-and-found hasn’t been functional since grade school. Many places – bars, restaurants, clubs – just don’t keep that stuff around for long and other places like parks, play grounds, and other outdoor spaces don’t have a central lost-and-found at all. But with the local web, everyone becomes their own receptacle for lost goods and you can move to meet the owner as well.

Lost items are usually discovered as lost by their owners within minutes so time matters. When the digital lost-and-found is accessed on mobile phones and /lost.and.found can be dialed down to a few hundred feet, it allows both the owner and finder to connect much sooner. If the finder collects the item, then waits until they get home to post it to Craigslist, the owner might be 45 minutes of rush hour traffic away, increasing the hassle all around.

The local web is enabling people to solve their own problems in their own way using the tools we already have in our hands. It doesn’t matter if you have lost something or you are lost yourself, the local web is your connection to those who can help.

Note: PAX is not officially affiliated with the local web. The above is just an example of what could happen when the local web launches at PAX East in April.

We are building the local web and sharing a new way to use it each day.

Whats going on when its all over?

So maybe you are not a formidable social butterfly with all the right connections. That doesn’t mean the fun needs to stop at 10pm when you made the long pilgrimage to PAX once a year. So where do you find out where all the after parties are going down?

You could follow a helpful twitter acount like @paxparties where its creator does the best to list as many parties as they can find. But for this type of information, the decentralized local web would be a better choice.

The local web URL /pax.after.parties is where anyone can post info about what after parties are happening and when. After party organizers large and small can post their info to the slash, without it going through one person first. People who are actually at the parties themselves are posting photos of the parties so they can give you a glimpse of what it is actually like.

You wanted to go to 8-bit Boston 3, but people are posting that the line is ridiculous and its over capacity already. Why waste your time. Thanks /pax.after.parties.

The Borderlands Pants-Optional party wasn’t advertised but the photos people are posting look ridiculous. That is where you want to be right now. Thanks /pax.after.parties.

The Harmonix after party isn’t very crowded, but also overpriced for what it is, according to “ToadDuster” who just posted some pics to /pax.after.parties.

When information is scattered and real time, there needs to be a collection method that’s decentralized and not bottle-necked by the speed and attention of one person. The local web is that method and platform.

We are building the local web and sharing a new way to use it each day.